Gable geip



4 Sheets-Sheet i. T. OTTO.

CABLE GRIP.

(No Model.)

No. 474,185. Patented May 3, 1892.

4 Sheets-Shet 2. .T. OTTO. CABLE GRIP.

(No Model.)

Ewell/for.-

Patented May'3, 1892.

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( Modem 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

T. OTTO.

CABLE GRIP.

No. 474,185. 7 Patented May a, 1 92.

(No Model.) 4 Sheefis-Sheet 4. T. OTTO.

GABLE GRIP.

No. 474,185. Patented May 3, 1892.

d J a w E j w 7 V A M C r 7/ A \W 7 W w J UNITED ST TES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODOR OTTO, OF SOHKEUDITZ, ASSIGNOR TO JULIUS POHLIG, OF

COLOGNE, GERMANY.

CABLE-G RIP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 474,185, dated May 3,1892.

Application filed August 12, 1891. Serial No. 402,473. (No model.)Patented in Germany September 27, 1887, No. 44,876, and in England July23, 1890,N0. 11,549.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THEODOR OTTO, civil engineer, a subject of the Kingof Prussia, residing at Schkeuditz, in the Kingdom of Prussia and Empireof Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCable-Grips, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent in Germany, datedSeptember 27,1887,

bio 14,876, and in England, dated July 23, 1890, No. 11,549,) andI dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

Thisinvention relates to cable-grips for overhead-cable roads, and hasfor its object to provide a grip of simple construction, automatic inits operation, and so arranged that the gripping action or frictionalcontact between the rope and gripping devices will in crease inproportion to the tractional power exerted by said rope, or, in otherwords,in proportion to the load thereon.

The invention consists in the combination of two gripping-jaws, one orboth of which are arranged to vibrate in the plane of the haulage ropeor cable and in circles intersecting each other, as well as the lineoftravel of the cable, and in structural features and combinations ofco-operative elements, as will now be fully described, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 areschematic views illustrating various arrangements of the gripping-jaws.Fig. 5 is a front elevation, Fig. 6 a side elevation, and Fig. 7 avertical central section, of a cable-grip constructed on theprincipleilliiistrated by Fig. 1. Fig. Sis a sectional top plan view ofone of the grippingjaws. Fig. 9 is a front elevation, and Fig. 10 avertical central section, of a cable-grip constructed on the principleillustrated in Fig. 3. Fig. 11 is a front view, and Fig. 12 a verticalcentral section, of a cable-grip constructed on the principleillustrated in Fig. 4.

The cable-grip forming the subject-matter of this invention comprisestwo grippingjaws, one or both of which are adapted to vibrate in theplane of the haulage rope or cable in arcs of circles that intersecteach other as well as the cable plane, and if one or both of said jawsare arranged so as to gravitate on their pivots the operation of thegrip will be automatic. In order that both jaws may swing or vibrate incircles that intersect each other, as wellas the plane of the cable, andcooperate to grip said cable, it is necessary that their pivotal axesshould lie at different points in one and the same plane, so that inwhatever direction the jaws may vibrate they will grip the cable betweenthem, and the greater the pull of the cable-that is to say, the greaterthe resistance to the motion thereofthe greater will be the grippingaction of the jaws, the tendency of the cable being to draw the jawsalong and cause them to revolve on their respective axes.

The arrangement of the jaws relatively to the cable may be variedf0rinstance, as shown in Fig. 1. Both gripping-jaws J J have their pivotalaxes above the cable 0 in a plane perpendicular thereto, and, as isreadily seen, when said j awsare constructed so as to gravitate on theiraxes a a they will always lie in a vertical plane with their operativefaces on opposite sides of the cable, in which position of the jawstheir said operative faces will be farthest from each other. It motionis imparted to the jaws in one or the other direction, their operativefaces will describe arcs of circles 1 1 and 2 2, respectively, thatintersect each other at 3, and if said jaws are pivotally connected withtheir vibrating support every point of their operative faces will movein the respective arcs of circles of their support, so that at the pointof intersection the entire operating or gripping surface of the jawswill be in contact. Inasmuch as the gripping-faces of the jaws alsointersect the plane of the cablenamely, the cable C-itself, they willcontact therewith sooner and grip the same with a force corresponding tothe resistance of the load to its motion. By arranging the jaws onthc-irsupports so as to contact with the cable when in a normal positionthe operation of coupling will-be automatic, since said cable will drawthe jaws along.

To uncouple, it is simply necessary to provide means for shifting one ofthe grippingjaws, and this may be done by arranging the support thereofso as to have motion in a plane at rightangles to the cable.

In Fig. 2 the jaws have their pivotal axes below the cable, and inorderto support them in a normal vertical plane any suitable means suchas counterweights, a spring or springs, or other suitable devices-may beemployed. In Fig. 3 the jaws have their pivots on opposite sides of thecable 0, the same results being obtained. It is, however, not necessarythat both jaws should describe circles that intersect each other and thecable, and this will be readily understood from a descrip tion of Fig.4. If we imagine a vibratory gripping-jaw support of infinite length-as,for instance, the lever L for the upper jaw J said jaw will move inasubstantially straight line or in the plane of the cable 0, while thelower jaw J will describe a circle that will intersect said plane, andconsequently the cable, so that in practice one of the jaws may have afixed relation to the other.

In Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, I have shown a cable-grip embodying theprinciple referred to in respect to Fig. 1. A supporting frame or plateP, bolted to the carriage or carrier at any convenient point-as, forinstance, to one of the longitudinal girts Gis provided with twobearings in the same vertical plane-one above the other-for the pivotsor journals Z and Z of two levers'L and L", respectively. The lower endof lever L constitutes the upper gripping-jaw, and has or may have itsoperative face corrugated transversely, as shown at Z and provided witha longitudinal groove Z for the cable 0. (See Fig. 6.) That part of thepivot or journal Z of lever L on which said lever has bearing isconstructed in the form of an eccentric, as shown at Z, Fig. 7, so thatthe said lever, mayhave motion imparted thereto toward and from thecable 0, as shown in full anddotted lines, Fig. (i, for the purpose ofcoupling the carriage to or uncoupling the same from said cable. Thismotion is imparted to the lever L by means of a hand-lever L the handleportion L of which is\ made sufficiently heavy to cause it toautomatically return into its normal position by gravitation when movedout of it, thereby rendering the operation of the grip automatic. Theuncoupling may be effected by hand or automatically by an inclined railR at the stations, with which rail the portion 1 of lever L contacts, soas to turn the lever into the position shown in full lines in said Fig.6. The lower jaw J has its opposite ends forked and provided withbearings for the journals of two sheaves or pulleys S S, that serve tosupport the cable 0 when the grip is disconnected therefrom, said jawhaving a central rectangular transverse slot. j for the reception tion.

ever, the balanced jaw. J is adapted to vibrate on or with its journaland with the lever L, every point of its gripping-face intermediate ofthe sheaves S will describe the same are of a circle when vibrated inone or the other direction, thereby bringing the entire gripping-surfacein contact with the cable 0. As shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, thediameter of the cable-carrier sheaves is so chosen or said sheaves havetheir journals so arranged relatively to the gripping-face of the jaw Jthat said face will lie slightly below the periphery of the sheaves, sothat when the cable is held between the jaws itis slightly bent, asshown in said Fig. 5, thus preventing all liability of the cableslipping between the jaws. In order that the distance between theoperative or gripping faces of the jaws may be adjusted within certainlimits, washers of varying thickness are inserted be tween the upper andlower ends of the block 7" and its bearing-slot j. The outer end of thejournalj is split, and in said split is secured a spring S, the freeends of which .have bearing on the support P, as shown in Figs. 5, 6,and 7, so as to maintain the jaw J in a normal horizontal position orreturn the same to said position when moved out of it. In order thatboth jaws may be made to vibrate synchronously, the upper jaw J has aslotted xtensionjfl through the slot 7' of which passes the journalj ofthe lower jaw J, Figs. 5, G, and 7. The support P has a depending backplate 19, that serves to confine the'journals j and l and the free endsof the spring S, though other means may be provided-as, for instance,the said journals may have their outer ends screw-threaded for thereception of a nut, while the free ends of the spring may be heldagainst accidental displacementby pins or lugs depending from thesupport P. When both levers L and L have their pivotal axis below thehaulage-rope, as shown in Fig. 2, any suitable means may be provided tohold the levers in a normally-vertical p'osiprovided for said levers orfor the jaws or counter-weights on extensions of the levers -L and L.

Referring now to Figs. 9 and 10, which show a cable-grip embodying theprinciples illustrated in Fig. 3, in which the jaws J and J have theiraxes of vibration on opposite sides of the cable 0, the upper jaw J ispivotally connected with the lever L, whose fulcrum in this case isbelow said cable 0 in a'frame or support P, that carriesthe sheaves orpulleys S, said frame being also bolted to one of the longitudinal girtsG of the carrier or carriage.

For instance, spring-abutments may be The lower jaw J on the contrary,is here suspended from two links or levers L L, journaled to support P,the adjustment of the upper jaw J toward and from the lower one J beingalso effected by washers or bushings j of varying thickness on saidjournal, while the motion of the upper jaw toward and from the lower jawin coupling or uncoupling is effected by the lever L which has aneccentric ortion Z on which said lever L has bearing, P

that their entire gripping-faces are brought into contact with the cable0.

In Figs. 11 and 12 I have shown a cablegrip constructed according t6 theprinciples illustrated in Fig. 4, the lower jaw being in this caserigidly secured to the support P, said support or jaw taking the placeof a lever of infinite length. In all other. respects the grip is thesame as that shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

In a grip constructed as described in reference to Figs. 9 to 12 thehand-lever L is made sufiiciently light so as not to overbalance thelever L and its jaw J in order to maintain said lever in its normalperpendicular position.

It will be seen that in all of the modifications in the arrangement ofthe vibrating or pendulous jaws, or the arrangement of a fixed jaw incombination with a vibrating or pendulous jaw, the coupling is automaticas soon as the lever L is released or turned into proper position tobring the jaws into contact with the cable, while the uncoupling isrendered automatic, as above described, by the engagement of the lever Lwith the inclined rail R.

The construction of the grip is extremely simple and its operation veryeffective, as it cannot loose its hold upon the rope except by powerapplied to the lever L Having thus described my invention, what I claimas new therein, and desire to secure by Letters la ent, is-

1. A cable-grip comprising two j uxtaposited gripping-jaws, one of saidjaws vibrating on a pivot perpendicular to the haulage-rope, thegripping-face of said jaw describing an arc of a circle intersectingsaid rope and an arc of a circle passing through the gripping-face ofthe other jaw, for the purpose set forth.

2. A cable-grip comprising two juxtaposited gripping-jaws, a pendulousor vibratory support for one of said jaws, and a pivotal con- 11 ectionbetween the j aw and its support,'which latter is arranged so that thegripping-face of the gripping-j aw pivoted thereto will describe an arcof a circle intersecting the plane of the other jaw, for the purpose setforth.

- 3. A cable-grip comprising two j uxtaposited gripping-jaws, one ofsaid jaws vibrating on a pivot perpendicular to the haulage-rope, thegripping-face of said jaw describing an arc of a circle intersecting thehaulage-rope and an arc of a circle passing through the grippingface ofthe other jaw, in combination with a shifting device for shifting theaxis of vibration of .the vibrating jaw toward and from thehaulage-rope, for the purpose set forth.

4. A cable-grip comprising two juxtaposited grippingjaws arrangedrelatively to each other, so that the gripping-face of one of said jawswill vibrate in an arc of a circle intersecting the plane of theoperative face of the other jaw, and means for regulating the distancebetween the operative faces of said jaws, for the purpose set forth.

'5. A cable-grip comprising two j uxtaposited gripping-jaws vibrating onpivots perpendicular to the haulage-rope, the gripping-faces of saidjaws describing arcs of circles intersecting each other and thehaulage-rope, for the purpose set forth.

6. A cable-grip comprising two grippingjaws, a pendulous or vibratorysupport therefor, and a pivotal connection between said jaws andsupports, which latter are arranged so that the gripping-faces of thejaws will describe arcs of circles intersecting each other when saidsupports are vibrated, for the pur-' pose set forth.

7. A cable-grip comprising two j uxtaposited gripping-jaws vibrating onpivots perpendicular to the haulage-rope, the gripping-faces of saidjaws describing arcs of circles intersecting each other and thehaulage-rope, in combination with a shifting device for shifting theaxis of vibration of one of the jaws toward and from the haulage-rope,for the purpose set forth.

8. A cable-grip comprising a fixed support provided with pivotsperpendicular to the haulage-rope, and two gripping-jaws loosely mountedon said pivots, the gripping-faces of said jaws describing arcs ofcircles intersecting each other and the haulage-rope, for the purposeset forth.

9. A cable-grip comprising a fixed support and two juxtapositedgripping-jaws having their pivots on said support in a plane at rightangles to and intersecting the plane of motion of the haulagerope andvibrating in arcs of circles intersecting each other, for the purposesset forth.

10. The combination, with the haulage rope or cable of a cable road andthe carriage, of a cable-grip comprising two juxtaposited pendulous orvibratory gripping-jaws arranged relatively to each other, so that theirgripping-faces will describe arcs of circles intersecting each other,and a carrier for said cable connected with one of said jaws, for thepurpose set forth.

11. A cable-grip comprising two j uxtaposited gripping-jaws, pendulousor vibratory supports therefor arranged relatively to each other, sothat the gripping-faces of the jaws will describe arcs of circlesintersecting each other, and a revoluble carrier consisting of a sheaveor pulley at opposite ends of and journaled in the lower jaw andbalancing each other, said jaw being pivotally connected with itspendulous or vibratory support, for the purpose set forth.

12. A cable-grip comprising two juxtaposited gripping-jaws, pendulous orvibratory supports therefor arranged relatively to each other, so thatthe gripping-faces of the jaws will describe arcs of circlesintersecting each other, a revoluble carrier consisting of a sheave orpulley at opposite ends of and j ournaled on the lower jaw and balancingeach other, said jaw being pivotall y connected with its pendulous orvibratory support, and a spring operating to hold the jaw in a normallyhorizontal position, for the purpose set forth.

13. A cable-grip comprising two juxtaposited gripping-jaws, pendulous orvibratory supports therefor arranged relatively to each other, so thatthe gripping-faces of the jaws will describe arcs of circlesintersecting each other, and a sheave journaled at each end of the lowerjaw and balancing each other, said jaw having its gripping-face betweenthe sheaves in a plane below their periphery, for the purpose set forth.

14. A cable-grip comprising two juxtapositd gripping-jaws, pendulous orvibratory supports therefor arranged relatively to each other, so thatthe gripping-faces of the jaws will describe arcs of circlesintersecting each other, a sheave journaled at each end of the lower jawand balancing each other, and a shifting device for shifting the axis ofvibration of one of said jaws, for the purpose set forth.

15. A cable-grip comprising two juxtaposited gripping-j aws, a fixedsupport with which said jaws are pivotally connected at difierent pointsin the same plane, so that their gripping-faces will describe arcs ofcircles that intersect each other, and a regulating device forregulating the distance between the gripping-faces of the jaws, for thepurpose set forth.

grip the cable from opposite sides, said jaws having a pendulous orvibratory motion on independent axes arranged on one and the same sideof the cable either above or below and in a plane intersecting saidcable, the gripping-faces of said jaws vibrating in arcs of circlesintersecting each other, for the purposes-set forth.

17. A cable-grip comprising two juxtaposited gripping-jaws, pendulous orvibratory supports therefor arranged relatively to each other, so thatthe gripping-faces of the jaws will describe arcs of circlesintersecting each other, a revoluble carrier consisting of a sheave orpulley at opposite ends of and journaled in the lower jaw and balancingeach I other, said jaw being pivotally connected with its pendulous orvibratory support, and a shifting device for shifting the axis ofvibration of one of said jaws, for the purpose set forth. 18. Acable-grip comprising two juxtaposited gripping-jaws, pendulous orvibratory supports therefor arranged relatively to each other, so thatthe gripping-faces of the jaws.

will describe arcs of circles intersecting each other, a revolublecarrier consisting of a sheave or pulley at opposite ends of andjournaled in the lower jaw and balancing each 19. A cable-gripcomprising two uxtaposited synchronously pendulous or vibratory jawshaving their axes of vibration above their gripping-faces and arrangedso that said gripping-faces will describe arcs of circles inter- A jsecting each other, and a weighted lever connectedwith the axis ofrotation of one of the jaws for maintaining the same in a normalposition, for the purpose set forth.

20. Acable-grip comprising two juxtaposlited synchronously pendulous orvibratory E jaws having their axes of vibration above theirgripping-faces and arranged so that said gripping-faces will describearcs of circles intersecting each other, a shifting device for shiftingthe axis of vibration of the upper jaw, and a weighted lever secured tosaid axis, for the purpose set forth.

THEODOR OTTO. Witnesses:

WILHELM SCHMULLER, FERD. PALM.

